Dynamic jitter buffer size adjustment

ABSTRACT

A method includes storing data packets in a buffer at a receiving terminal The data packets are received by the receiving terminal from a transmitting terminal The method also includes determining a dropped packet rate at the receiving terminal, a packet transmission latency between the receiving terminal and the transmitting terminal, a signal quality at the receiving terminal, and a use application at the receiving terminal The method further includes dynamically adjusting a size of the buffer based on the dropped packet rate, based on the packet transmission latency, based on the signal quality, and based on the use application.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is generally related to storing data packets in ajitter buffer of a user device.

BACKGROUND

Multimedia content may be delivered from a first user device to a seconduser device using a wireless network and/or a wired network. Multimediacontent may be delivered using packetized transport services. Packetizedtransport services are being rapidly adopted and are replacing circuitswitched services for wireless network communications and wiredcommunications.

However, packetized transport services may introduce disadvantagescompared to circuit switched services. For example, the length of timeto deliver packets from the first user device to the second user devicemay vary, packets may arrive out of order, and some packets may be lostduring transmission (e.g., some packets may never reach the second userdevice).

A jitter buffer at a receiving terminal (e.g., the second user device)may be used to reduce jitter and to receive packets that arrive out oforder. However, the size of the jitter buffer may impact communicationquality. For example, a relatively large jitter buffer may reduce anumber of discarded (e.g., lost) packets and may reduce disruptions inservice (e.g., video freezing, audio dropouts, etc.). However, arelatively large jitter buffer may also degrade (e.g., increase)latency. On the other hand, a relatively small jitter buffer may improve(e.g., reduce) latency. However, a relatively small jitter buffer mayresult in increased packet loss (e.g., discontinuous streaming) Thus, adesign of the jitter buffer may trade off latency for packet loss. Forexample, increasing the size of the jitter buffer increases latency andreduces the chance of packet loss due to late packet delivery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system that supports dynamic jitterbuffer size adjustment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for dynamically adjusting a size of ajitter buffer.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a general computer system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A size (e.g., a depth) of a jitter buffer in a receiving terminal may bedynamically adjusted based on various factors to improve performance(e.g., improve a tradeoff between latency and packet loss). Thereceiving terminal may receive packetized data from a transmittingterminal and may store the packetized data in the jitter buffer fordecoding operations. The receiving terminal may dynamically adjust thesize of the jitter buffer based on a variety of factors. As non-limitingexamples, the receiving terminal may dynamically adjust the size of thejitter buffer based on a “real-time” dropped packet rate (e.g., a rateof packet loss), a “real-time” latency, one or more environmentalfactors, a use case application, or a combination thereof

To illustrate, if the receiving terminal determines that the real-timedropped packet rate is above a packet loss threshold, the receivingterminal may dynamically increase the size of the jitter buffer toreduce the amount of dropped data packets and to reduce the droppedpacket rate. If the receiving terminal determines that the real-timelatency is above a latency threshold, the receiving terminal maydynamically decrease the size of the jitter buffer to improve latency.If the receiving terminal determines that there is a relatively highamount of environmental noise, path loss, or a combination thereof, nearthe receiving terminal and/or near the transmitting terminal, thereceiving terminal may dynamically increase the size of the jitterbuffer. Additionally, the receiving terminal may dynamically increasethe size of the jitter buffer for streaming files (e.g., streamingvideo, streaming audio, etc.) if the receiving terminal predicts thatdata associated with the streaming files will travel through a regionwith poor signal quality. As explained with respect to FIG. 1, a codingand modulation scheme (e.g., a Forward Error Correction (FEC) coding andmodulation scheme) may also be adjusted to change time slot utilizationfor purposes of decreasing packet loss.

The factors described above that are used to adjust the size of thejitter buffer are non-limiting examples and should not be construed aslimiting. Increasing the size of the jitter buffer may reduce the amountof packet loss (e.g., the amount of dropped packets), which in turn mayreduce the amount of disruptions in service. Decreasing the size of thejitter buffer may improve latency. The techniques presented herein maybe used to improve performance related to the tradeoff between packetloss and latency based on at least the above-described factors.

In one implementation of the disclosed techniques, a method includesstoring data packets in a buffer at a receiving terminal The datapackets are received by the receiving terminal from a transmittingterminal The method also includes determining a dropped packet rate atthe receiving terminal, a packet transmission latency between thereceiving terminal and the transmitting terminal, a signal quality atthe receiving terminal, and a use application at the receiving terminalAs used herein, a “use application” may include any function oroperation performed by the receiving terminal Non-limiting examples of ause application include interactive calls, streaming video fileapplications, streaming audio file applications, etc. The method furtherincludes dynamically adjusting a size of the buffer based on the droppedpacket rate, based on the packet transmission latency, based on thesignal quality, and based on the use application.

In another implementation of the disclosed techniques, an apparatusincludes a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memoryincludes instructions executable by the processor to perform operationsincluding storing data packets in a buffer at a receiving terminal Thedata packets are received by the receiving terminal from a transmittingterminal The operations also include determining a dropped packet rateat the receiving terminal, a packet transmission latency between thereceiving terminal and the transmitting terminal, a signal quality atthe receiving terminal, and a use application at the receiving terminalThe operations further include dynamically adjusting a size of thebuffer based on the dropped packet rate, based on the packettransmission latency, based on the signal quality, and based on the useapplication.

In another implementation of the disclosed techniques, acomputer-readable storage device includes instructions that, whenexecuted by a processor within a receiving terminal, cause the processorto perform operations including storing data packets in a buffer at thereceiving terminal The data packets are received by the receivingterminal from a transmitting terminal The operations also includedetermining a dropped packet rate at the receiving terminal, a packettransmission latency between the receiving terminal and the transmittingterminal, a signal quality at the receiving terminal, and a useapplication at the receiving terminal The operations further includedynamically adjusting a size of the buffer based on the dropped packetrate, based on the packet transmission latency, based on the signalquality, and based on the use application. A non-transitory storagedevice is a non-limiting example of a “computer-readable storagedevice”.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system 100 that supports dynamic jitterbuffer size adjustment. The system 100 includes a transmitting terminal110 and a receiving terminal 120. The transmitting terminal 110 may beconfigured to transmit data packets to the receiving terminal 120 via anetwork 102. Non-limiting examples of the network 102 may include theinternet, a private network, or a mobile communication network. Thenetwork 102 may be a wireless network, a wired network, a fiber opticcable network, other networks (e.g., a sonic data transfer network, afess space network, etc.), or a combination thereof Although thefollowing description is described with respect to a full-duplexpoint-to-point transmission (e.g., unicast transmission), the followingtechniques may also be implemented for multicast transmissions,broadcast transmissions, push-to-talk transmissions, etc.

The terminals 110, 120 may include, but are not limited to, one or moremedia devices (e.g., one or more set-top boxes, one or more residentialgateways, one or more media playback devices, or combinations thereof)and one or more output devices (e.g., one or more sound systems, one ormore display devices, or combinations thereof), one or more computingsystems, one or more portable computing devices (e.g., one or morelaptop computers, tablet computers, computerized glasses, personaldigital assistants, etc.), one or more mobile communication devices(e.g., a mobile phone, a smart phone, a cellular phone, etc.), otherdevices, or combinations thereof The transmitting terminal 110 includesa memory 112, a processor 114, and a transceiver 116. The processor 114includes a packet generator 118 and an encoder 119. The receivingterminal 120 includes a memory 122, a processor 124, and a transceiver126. The processor 124 includes a decoder 127 and a sensor 129. Thememory 122 includes a buffer 128 (e.g., a size adjustable de-jitterbuffer). Although the buffer 128 is shown as included in the memory 122,in other implementations, the buffer 128 may be included in theprocessor 124 or at another location. As described below, a size of thebuffer 128 may be adjusted by the processor 124 based on a variety offactors based on a tradeoff between packet loss and latency. As usedherein, “adjusting the size of a buffer” may include physicallyincreasing or decreasing the size (e.g., depth) of the buffer,dedicating additional or fewer storage locations in the buffer to storedata packets, selecting additional or fewer buffers to store datapackets, or a combination thereof.

The packet generator 118 may be configured to generate data packets thatare to be sent to the receiving terminal 120 via the network 102. Forexample, the packet generator 118 may generate N data packets, where Nis any integer greater than zero. For ease of description, the remainingportion of the description will assume that the packet generator 118generates data packets in sequential order. For example, the packetgenerator 118 generates a first data packet, followed by a second datapacket, followed by a third data packet, etc. The data packets generatedby the packet generator 118 may include data for one or more services.For example, the data packets may include data for a streaming videoservice, data for a streaming audio service, data for a short messageservice, data for an audio call, other services, or a combinationthereof.

The encoder 119 may be configured to encode the data packets prior totransmission. For example, the encoder 119 may encode the first datapacket to generate a first encoded data packet, encode the second datapacket to generate a second encoded data packet, encode the third datapacket to generate a third encoded data packet, etc. After generatingthe encoded data packets, the processor 114 may provide the encoded datapackets to the transceiver 116. The transceiver 116 may be configured totransmit each encoded data packet to the receiving terminal 120 via thenetwork 102. The transceiver 116 may transmit the encoded data packetsto the receiving terminal 120 in sequential order. For example, thetransceiver 116 may transmit the first encoded data packet, followed bythe second encoded data packet, followed by the third encoded datapacket, etc.

The transceiver 126 of the receiving terminal 120 may be configured toreceive the encoded data packets from the transceiver 116 of thetransmitting terminal 110. However, due to different network conditions,the encoded data packets may arrive out of order. As a non-limitingexample, the transceiver 126 may receive the third encoded data packetprior to receiving the first encoded data packet. In other scenarios,encoded data packets may be lost during transmission. For example, thetransceiver 126 may receive the first encoded data packet followed bythe third encoded data packet, but the second encoded data packet may belost during transmission and never received by the transceiver 126. Theencoded data packets may arrive out of order (or may be lost duringtransmission) due to a network delay, a data handling capacity, wirelesssignal conditions, a network load, etc.

The buffer 128 may store the encoded data packets to reduce jitter andto alleviate drawbacks associated with the encoded data packets thatarrive out of order. For example, the buffer 128 may “absorb” or reducejitter (e.g., due to the delay) in the packet arrival time by bufferingthe encoded data packets received by the transceiver 126 and providingthe encoded data packets to the decoder 127 at regular intervals fordecoding. The decoder 127 may retrieve the encoded data packets from thebuffer 128 in sequential order. For example, the decoder 127 mayretrieve the first encoded data packet for decoding, followed by thesecond encoded data packet, followed by the third encoded data packet,etc. If a particular encoded data packet is not stored at the buffer 128at the time the decoder 127 attempts to retrieve the particular encodeddata packet, a disruption in service may occur. For example, after thedecoder 127 decodes the first encoded data packet, the decoder 127 mayattempt to retrieve and decode the second encoded data packet. However,if the second encoded data packet is not in the buffer 128, the seconddata packet may be considered a “dropped” data packet and a disruptionin service may occur.

The number of encoded data packets that may be stored at the buffer 128may depend on the size of the buffer 128. For example, if the buffer 128has a relatively large size, the buffer 128 may store a relatively largenumber of encoded data packets. Storing a relatively large number ofencoded data packets at the buffer 128 may compensate for encoded datapackets arriving out of order and thus may reduce the amount ofdisruptions in service. For example, by storing a relatively largenumber of encoded data packets at the buffer 128, the likelihood thatthe decoder 127 may fetch and decode consecutive encoded data packetsfrom the buffer 128 is relatively high. As a result, continuous (e.g.,uninterrupted) streaming may result from a relatively large buffer 128.As non-limiting examples, a relatively large buffer 128 may reduce theamount of video freezing in a video streaming service due to packetsarriving out of order, reduce the amount of audio dropouts in an audiostreaming service due to packets arriving out of order, etc. Thus, arelatively large buffer 128 may reduce packet loss and may improve thecustomer experience. However, a relatively large buffer 128 may alsodegrade (e.g., increase) latency. For example, a relatively large buffer128 may result in an increased time period between generation of thepacket at the packet generator 118 of the transmitting terminal 110 anddecoding of the packet at the decoder 127 of the receiving terminal 120.Increased latency may degrade the customer experience for voice calls.For example, there may be a relatively long delay between when a soundis generated at the transmitting terminal 110 and when the sound isheard at the receiving terminal 120.

The processor 124 may dynamically adjust the size of the buffer 128based on the tradeoff between packet loss and latency. To illustrate,the processor 124 may be configured to determine a dropped packet rateat the receiving terminal 120. For example, the processor 124 maydetermine a number of occurrences within a time period that the decoder127 unsuccessfully attempts to retrieve an encoded data packet from thebuffer 128. Additionally, the processor 124 may be configured todetermine a packet transmission latency between the receiving terminal120 and the transmitting terminal 110. As used herein, a “packettransmission latency between a receiving terminal and a transmittingterminal” may include a time interval between packet generation at thetransmitting terminal and packet reception at the receiving terminal orpacket processing at the receiving terminal For example, the processor124 may determine the packet transmission latency by comparing a timestamp of a particular data packet to a time when the particular datapacket is decoded at the decoder 127. The time stamp may indicate whenthe particular data packet was generated by the packet generator 118.According to one implementation, the transmitting terminal 110 and thereceiving terminal 120 may be synchronized to a global clock tosynchronize the time at the transmitting terminal 110 with the time atthe receiving terminal 120.

The processor 124 may be configured to dynamically adjust the size ofthe buffer 128 based on the dropped packet rate, based on the packettransmission latency, or based on a combination thereof (e.g., a ModelOutput Statistics (MOS) Isopleth on a two-dimensional chart of droppedpacket rate vs. packet transmission latency) based on the tradeoffbetween packet loss and latency. To illustrate, the processor 124 mayincrease (e.g., enlarge) the size of the buffer 128 if the droppedpacket rate is greater than a first threshold (e.g., a dropped packetthreshold). As a non-limiting example, the first threshold may be equalto four (or less) unsuccessful attempts during a two-hundred millisecondtime interval. If the decoder 127 unsuccessfully attempts to retrievemore than five encoded data packets from the buffer 128 during atwo-hundred millisecond time interval, the processor 124 may increasethe size of the buffer 128 to store more encoded data packets. Thedropped packet threshold may also correspond to a percentage of datapackets that are dropped during communication. As a non-limitingexample, a commonly quoted requirement for Voice Over Long-TermEvolution (VoLTE) is that a packet loss of less than one percent isrequired (although it is to be understood that thresholds other thanapproximately one percent may be used in alternative examples).Increasing the size of the buffer 128 may enable additional encoded datapackets to be stored at the buffer 128, which in turn, may decrease thelikelihood of an unsuccessful attempt (e.g., decrease the dropped packetrate).

The processor 124 may decrease the size of the buffer 128 if the packettransmission latency is greater than a second threshold (e.g., a latencythreshold). As a non-limiting example, if the packet generator 118 ofthe transmitting terminal 110 generates a particular data packet at afirst time and the decoder 127 decodes the particular data packet at asecond time, the processor 124 may determine the packet transmissionlatency based on a difference between the second time and the firsttime. If the difference is greater than the second threshold, theprocessor 124 may decrease the size of the buffer 128 to reduce theamount of data packets stored at the buffer 128, which in turn, maydecrease the packet transmission latency. For example, storing fewerdata packets at the buffer 128 may reduce buffer congestion, which inturn, may decrease the packet transmission latency.

According to some implementations, the processor 124 may determine thepacket transmission latency based on a theoretical end-to-end latency.For example, the processor 124 may estimate the packet transmissionlatency based on a most probable packet path (e.g., a most likely paththat a data packet will use to travel from the transmitting terminal 110to the receiving terminal 120). According to other implementations, theprocessor 124 may determine the packet transmission latency based on acalculated end-to-end latency. For example, the processor 124 maycalculate the packet transmission latency based on a packet path used intransmitting a data packet from the transmitting terminal 110 to thereceiving terminal 120. According to other implementations, theprocessor 124 may determine the packet transmission latency based on ameasured end-to-end latency. The measured end-to-end latency maycorrespond to periodic (or near real-time) time measurements betweenpacket generation at the packet generator 118 and packet decoding at thedecoder 127. For example, the difference between the time indicated onthe time stamp during data packet generation and the time when the datapacket is decoded may correspond to the measured end-to-end latency.

The processor 124 may also consider other factors in dynamicallyadjusting the size of the buffer 128. For example, the processor 124 maydynamically adjust the size of the buffer 128 based on a signal qualityat the receiving terminal 120. To illustrate, the sensor 129 maydetermine (e.g., measure) the signal quality at the receiving terminal120. According to one implementation, the signal quality may be comparedto a third threshold (e.g., a signal quality threshold). The processor124 may increase the size of the buffer 128 if the signal quality isbelow the third threshold. For example, if the signal quality is belowthe third threshold, data packets may arrive out of order due to networkconditions. Thus, an increased amount of encoded data packets may needto be stored at the buffer 128 to increase the likelihood that anencoded data packet that arrived out of order is accessible to thedecoder 127 when the decoder 127 attempts to retrieve the encoded datapacket. Thus, the processor 124 may increase the size of the buffer 128to store the increased amount encoded data packets.

According to some implementations, the processor 124 may alsodynamically adjust the size of the buffer 128 based on a signal qualityat the transmitting terminal 110. To illustrate, the transmittingterminal 110 may send a message to the receiving terminal 120 indicatinga measured signal quality at the transmitting terminal 110. If themeasured signal quality at the transmitting terminal 110 is below athreshold, the processor 124 may increase the size of the buffer 128.

The processor 124 may also dynamically adjust the size of the buffer 128based on audio noise at the transmitting terminal 110, audio noise atthe receiving terminal 120, or a combination thereof To illustrate, ifthe sensor 129 detects a relatively high amount of noise at thereceiving terminal 120, the processor 124 may dynamically increase thesize of the buffer 128. If the sensor 129 detects a relatively lowamount of noise at the receiving terminal 120, the processor 124 maydynamically decrease the size of the buffer 128. According to someimplementations, the transmitting terminal 110 may send a message to thereceiving terminal 120 indicating a detected amount of noise at thetransmitting terminal 110. If the detected amount of noise at thetransmitting terminal 110 is relatively high, the processor 124 maydynamically increase the size of the buffer 128. If the detected amountof noise at the transmitting terminal 110 is relatively low, theprocessor 124 may dynamically decrease the size of the buffer 128.

According to some implementations, the processor 124 may alsodynamically adjust the size of the buffer 128 based on Model OutputStatistics (MOS) degradation and/or speech intelligibility degradationdue to transcoding. Speech intelligibility degradation may be due topacket loss. Thus, if the processor 124 determines that speech isdegraded at the receiving terminal 120, the processor 124 may increasethe size of the buffer 128 to store a greater number of data packets.

According to some implementations, the processor 124 may dynamicallyadjust the size of the buffer 128 based on the use application. Forexample, the processor 124 may dynamically increase the size of thebuffer 128 for interactive calls in anticipation of increased latency.Similarly, the processor 124 may dynamically increase the size of thebuffer 128 for streaming files (e.g., streaming video, streaming audio,etc.) if the processor 124 predicts (based on data from the sensor 129)that the receiving terminal 120 will travel through a region with poorsignal quality (e.g., poor radio frequency (RF) conditions) or predictsthat the receiving terminal 120 is subject to cell handover. Forexample, if the receiving terminal 120 travels through a region of poorsignal quality or is subject to cell handover, the rate at which thereceiving terminal 120 receives data packets may decrease. To compensatefor the reduced rate, a larger buffer 128 may be used to store a greaternumber of data packets when the receiving terminal 120 is in a regionhaving a strong signal quality. Thus, when the receiving terminal 120enters into the region of poor signal quality (or experiences cellhandover), the increased number of data packets (stored in the buffer128 when the receiving terminal 120 was in the region having the strongsignal quality) may be used to enable continuous decoding of datapackets during the time period associated with the reduced packetreception rate.

According to some implementations, the processor 124 may dynamicallyadjust the size of the buffer 128 based on a location of the receivingterminal 120. As described above, if the processor 124 determines thatthe location corresponds to a region of poor signal quality, theprocessor 124 may dynamically increase the size of the buffer 128. Theprocessor 124 may determine the location of the receiving terminal 120based on a global positioning system (GPS), inertial navigation, orother techniques.

In some implementations, the processor 124 may predict a future location(or path of travel) of the receiving terminal 120 and dynamically adjustthe size of the buffer 128 based on the predicted future location/pathor based on predicted radio frequency conditions. According to oneexample, the predicted future location/path may be based on user input.To illustrate, the user of the receiving terminal 120 may input adestination address into a user interface and the processor 124 maypredict future locations/paths by accessing a turn-by-turn navigationsystem designated to instruct the user on how to arrive at thedestination address. As another example, the processor 124 may predict afuture location/path based on previous user behavior. To illustrate, ifa user of the receiving terminal 120 drives along a particular route towork on week days, the processor 124 may predict the futurelocation/path of the receiving terminal 120 based on the particularroute. As another example, the processor 124 may access a schedule inthe memory 122 that includes locations and times of variousmeeting/activities of the user of the receiving terminal 120. Based onthe locations/times in the schedule, the processor 124 may predict thefuture location/path of the receiving terminal 120. Additionally, ahistorical database may store information indicating “optimal” orpreferred jitter buffer sizes for different locations (or predictivelocations) based on content, end user devices, weather, seasonality,etc. A predictive engine may use computational intelligence mechanisms(e.g., neural networks, knowledge based artificial intelligencemechanisms, etc.) to proactively adjust the size of the buffer 128 toimprove network resource utilization and end user experience.

After predicting the future location and/or path of travel, theprocessor 124 may determine network conditions for the location/pathusing “crowdsourced” data stored at an external server (e.g., a “cloud”server) or using crowdsourced data cached at the receiving terminal 120.As described above, the processor 124 may dynamically adjust the size ofthe buffer 128 based on the network conditions or signal quality of thefuture location and/or path of travel.

The system 100 of FIG. 1 may provide an enhanced customer experience fortwo-way communications (including an IR.94 Video Calling Standard andVoLTE) by dynamically reducing dropouts. Dropouts may be dynamicallyreduced by increasing the size of the buffer 128 in areas resulting in arelatively high end-to-end latency. The system 100 may also reduce(e.g., improve) latency by decreasing the size of the buffer 128 to theextent possible without having a substantial impact on communicationquality. For streaming media, the system 100 may reduce dropouts bydynamically adjusting (e.g., increasing) the size of the buffer 128 tostore a greater number of encoded data packets when the receivingterminal 120 enters into an area of low (or no) signal coverage or anarea associated with higher jitter due to spatial or temporal issues.

According to some implementations, VoLTE may have a requirement thatend-to-end packet loss be below a certain threshold. As a non-limitingexample, VoLTE may require the end-to-end packet loss to be less than orequal to one percent (although it is to be understood that thresholdsother than approximately one percent may be used in alternativeexamples). The end-to-end packet loss may be dynamically allocated todifferent transmission chain components of the system 100. As anon-limiting example, ninety percent of the packet loss may be allocatedto the Radio Access Network (RAN) components (e.g., a cell site to theterminals 110, 120) and ten percent of the packet loss may be allocatedto the core network components (e.g., fiber network components, coppernetwork components, etc.). Thus, if the end-to-end packet loss thresholdis one percent (although it is to be understood that thresholds otherthan approximately one percent may be used in alternative examples), theRAN components may be allocated an end-to-end packet loss of 0.9percent, and the core network may be allocated an end-to-end packet lossof 0.1 percent. It should be understood that the percentages used hereinare for illustrative purposes only and are not to be construed aslimiting. In other implementations, the end-to-end packet loss may havea different dynamic allocation across transmission components of thesystem 100.

If the use case is a mobile-to-mobile (M2M) call, half of the end-to-endpacket loss threshold allocated to the RAN components may be allocatedto each terminal 110, 120. For example, the transmitting terminal 110may be allocated an end-to-end packet loss threshold of 0.45 percent,and the receiving terminal 120 may be allocated an end-to-end packetloss threshold of 0.45 percent. The end-to-end packet loss threshold ofeach terminal 110, 120 may be dynamically adjusted based on conditionsat each terminal 110, 120. For example, if the transmitting terminal 110is in an area with relatively good signal quality and experiencesrelatively low packet loss, the end-to-end packet loss thresholdallocated to the transmitting terminal 110 may be dynamically adjusted(e.g., reduced) and the end-to-end packet loss threshold allocated tothe receiving terminal 120 may be increased. To illustrate, theallocated end-to-end packet loss threshold at the transmitting terminal110 may be reduced to 0.1 percent and the allocated end-to-end packetloss threshold at the receiving terminal 120 may be increased to 0.8percent. Increasing the allocated end-to-end packet loss threshold atthe receiving terminal 120 may enable the size of the buffer 128 to bedecreased.

For the M2M call use case, the signal quality of each terminal 110, 120may be predicted in near real-time to implement the end-to-end packetloss threshold allocation described above. As a non-limiting example,each terminal 110, 120 may predict a signal quality based on historicaldata indicating a signal quality in a region of the terminals 110, 120.

Additionally, the modulation and FEC coding scheme may be adjusted ifone terminal is in an area with a relatively good signal quality andanother terminal is an area with a relatively poor signal quality thatmay cause increased packet loss. To illustrate, if the transmittingterminal 110 is in an area with relatively good signal quality andexperiences relatively low packet loss, the transmitting terminal 110may adjust the modulation and FEC coding scheme used to decode packetssuch that the transmitting terminal 110 loses a reduced number ofpackets. As a result, the end-to-end packet loss threshold at thereceiving terminal 120 may be increased, which may enable the size ofthe buffer 128 to be decreased. Other techniques used to reduce packetloss include transmitting duplicate packets in available time slots. Incertain implementations, a user specific packet loss algorithm may beused to offset the effects of lost data packets. The user specificpacket loss algorithm may be trained based on speech and language usageof a particular user. For example, the user specific packet lossalgorithm may access a customized computational intelligence database to“fill in” missing speech that is caused by lost data packets.

Referring to FIG. 2, a flowchart of a method 200 for dynamicallyadjusting a size of a jitter buffer is shown. The method may beperformed by the receiving terminal 120 of FIG. 1.

The method 200 includes storing data packets in a buffer at a receivingterminal, at 202. The data packets may be received by the receivingterminal from a transmitting terminal For example, referring to FIG. 1,the encoded data packets transmitted from the transmitting terminal 110may be stored at the buffer 128 at the receiving terminal 120.

A dropped packet rate at the receiving terminal, a packet transmissionlatency between the receiving terminal and the transmitting terminal, asignal quality at the receiving terminal, and a user application at thereceiving terminal may be determined, at 204. For example, referring toFIG. 1, the processor 124 may determine a dropped packet rate at thereceiving terminal 120. To illustrate, the processor 124 may determine anumber of occurrences within a time period that the decoder 127unsuccessfully attempts to retrieve an encoded data packet from thebuffer 128. Additionally, the processor 124 may determine a packettransmission latency between the receiving terminal 120 and thetransmitting terminal 110. To illustrate, the processor 124 maydetermine the packet transmission latency by comparing a time stamp of aparticular data packet to a time when the particular data packet isdecoded at the decoder 127. The time stamp may indicate when theparticular data packet was generated by the packet generator 118. Thesensor 129 may determine (e.g., measure) the signal quality at thereceiving terminal 120, and the processor 124 may determine the useapplication at the receiving terminal 120. For example, the processor124 may determine whether the use application includes a streamingservice (e.g., a streaming video service, a streaming audio service,etc.), an interactive call, etc.

A size of the buffer may be dynamically adjusted based on the droppedpacket rate, based on the packet transmission latency, based on thesignal quality, and based on the use application, at 206. For example,referring to FIG. 1, the processor 124 may increase (e.g., enlarge) thesize of the buffer 128 if the dropped packet rate is greater than thedropped packet threshold. The dropped packet threshold may alsocorrespond to a percentage of data packets that are dropped duringcommunication. As a non-limiting example, a commonly quoted requirementfor VoLTE is that a packet loss of less than one percent is required(although it is to be understood that thresholds other thanapproximately one percent may be used in alternative examples).Increasing the size of the buffer 128 may enable additional encoded datapackets to be stored at the buffer 128, which in turn, may decrease thelikelihood of an unsuccessful attempt (e.g., which may decrease thedropped packet rate). The processor 124 may decrease the size of thebuffer 128 if the packet transmission latency is greater than thelatency threshold or a dynamic threshold. The dynamic threshold may bebased on one or more real-time conditions, near real-time conditions,historical conditions, or predicted conditions. According to oneimplementation, the processor 124 may dynamically adjust the size of thebuffer 128 based on the tradeoff between packet loss and latency.

The processor 124 may further dynamically adjust the size of the buffer128 based on a signal quality at the receiving terminal 120. Toillustrate, the sensor 129 may determine (e.g., measure) the signalquality at the receiving terminal 120. According to one implementation,the signal quality may be compared to the signal quality threshold. Theprocessor 124 may increase the size of the buffer 128 if the signalquality is below the signal quality threshold. For example, if thesignal quality is below the signal quality threshold, data packets mayarrive out of order due to network conditions. Thus, an increased amountof encoded data packets may need to be stored at the buffer 128 toincrease the likelihood that an encoded data packet that arrived out oforder is accessible to the decoder 127 when the decoder 127 attempts toretrieve the encoded data packet.

According to one implementation, determining the signal qualityaccording to the method 200 includes predicting a future GPS location ofthe receiving terminal. For example, referring to FIG. 1, the user ofthe receiving terminal 120 may input a destination address or theprocessor 124 may predict a future GPS location based on previous userbehavior. To illustrate, the processor 124 may predict the future GPSlocation based on the time of day and data indicating a GPS location ofthe receiving terminal 120 at a similar time of day. Determining thesignal quality may also include crowdsourcing information from anexternal server. The information may correspond to a historical signalquality at the future GPS location. Thus, according to oneimplementation, the signal quality at the receiving terminal 120 maycorrespond to the historical signal quality at the future GPS location(e.g., the predicted location). The processor 124 may increase the sizeof the buffer 128 if the historical signal quality at the future GPSlocation is below a signal quality threshold and if the use applicationincludes a streaming service. For example, if the historical signalquality is below the signal quality threshold, the rate at which thereceiving terminal 120 receives data packets may decrease. Thus, in thiscase, a larger buffer 128 may be used to store a greater number of datapackets to enable continuous decoding of data packets when the receivingterminal arrives at the future GPS location.

The processor 124 may further dynamically adjust the size of the buffer128 based on the use application. For example, the processor 124 maydynamically increase the size of the buffer 128 for interactive calls inanticipation of increased latency. Similarly, the processor 124 maydynamically increase the size of the buffer 128 for streaming files(e.g., streaming video, streaming audio, etc.) if the processor 124predicts (based on data from the sensor 129) that the receiving terminal120 will travel through a region with poor signal quality (e.g., poor RFconditions) or predicts that the receiving terminal 120 is subject tocell handover. For example, if the receiving terminal 120 travelsthrough a region of poor signal quality or is subject to cell handover,the rate at which the receiving terminal 120 receives data packets maydecrease. Thus, when the receiving terminal 120 enters into the regionof poor signal quality (or experiences cell handover), the increasednumber of data packets (stored in the buffer 128 when the receivingterminal 120 was in the region having the strong signal quality) may beused to enable continuous decoding of data packets during the timeperiod associated with the reduced packet reception rate.

The method 200 of FIG. 2 may provide an enhanced customer experience fortwo-way communications by dynamically reducing dropouts. Dropouts may bedynamically reduced by increasing the size of the buffer 128 in areasresulting in a relatively high end-to-end jitter. The method 200 mayalso reduce (e.g., improve) latency by decreasing the size of the buffer128 to the extent possible without having a substantial impact oncommunication quality. For streaming media, the system 100 may reducedropouts by dynamically adjusting (e.g., increasing) the size of thebuffer 128 to store a greater number of encoded data packets when thereceiving terminal 120 enters into an area of low (or no) signalcoverage.

Referring to FIG. 3, a general computer system is shown and isdesignated 300. The computer system 300 includes a set of instructions(e.g., the instructions 324 in the memory 304) that can be executed tocause the computer system 300 to perform any one or more of the methodsor computer based functions disclosed herein. The computer system 300may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., using anetwork) to other computer systems or peripheral devices. For example,the computer system 300 may include or may be included within thetransmitting terminal 110 of FIG. 1 or the receiving terminal 120 ofFIG. 1.

In a networked deployment, the computer system 300 may operate in thecapacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-clientuser network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer(or distributed) network environment. The computer system 300 may alsobe implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as a mobiledevice, a palmtop computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, acommunications device, a wireless telephone, a personal computer (PC), atablet PC, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a set-top box (STB)device, a customer premises equipment device, an endpoint device, a webappliance, or any other machine capable of executing a set ofinstructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be takenby that machine. In a particular implementation, the computer system 300may be implemented using electronic devices that provide video, audio,data communication, or combinations thereof. Further, while a singlecomputer system 300 is illustrated, the term “system” shall also betaken to include any collection of systems or sub-systems thatindividually or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructionsto perform one or more computer functions.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the computer system 300 may include aprocessor 302 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), or both). For example, the processor 302 mayinclude or correspond to the processor 114 of the transmitting terminal110 of FIG. 1 or the processor 124 of the receiving terminal 120 ofFIG. 1. Moreover, the computer system 300 may include a main memory 304and a static memory 306, which can communicate with each other via a bus308. For example, the main memory 304 may include or correspond to thememory 112 of the transmitting terminal of FIG. 1 or the memory 122 ofthe receiving terminal 120 of FIG. 1. As shown, the computer system 300may further include a video display unit 310, such as a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, a touch screendisplay, a flat panel display, a solid state display, or a lamp assemblyof a projection system. Additionally, the computer system 300 mayinclude an input device 312, such as a remote control device (e.g., atelevision remote or a set-top box remote), a keyboard, a joystick,another type of input device, or combinations thereof. In addition, thecomputer system 300 may include a cursor control device 314 (e.g., amouse). In some implementations, the input device 312 and the cursorcontrol device 314 may be integrated into a single device, such as acapacitive touch screen input device. The computer system 300 may alsoinclude a drive unit 316, a signal generation device 318, such as aspeaker or remote control, and a network interface device 320. Somecomputer systems 300 may not include an input device (e.g., a server maynot include an input device).

In a particular implementation, as depicted in FIG. 3, the drive unit316 may include a computer-readable storage device 322 in whichauthentication information, identifiers, and one or more sets ofinstructions 324, e.g. software, can be embedded. The computer-readablestorage device 322 may be random access memory (RAM), read-only memory(ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM),electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), one or more registers, solid-statememory, one or more hard disks, one or more removable disks, compactdisc read-only memory (CD-ROM), other optical disk storage, magneticdisk storage, magnetic storage devices, or any other storage deviceusable to store program code in the form of instructions or data andthat can be accessed by a computer and/or a processor. Acomputer-readable storage device is not a signal.

Further, the instructions 324 may embody one or more of the methods orlogic as described herein. The instructions 324 may be executable by theprocessor 302 to perform one or more functions or methods describedherein, such as the method 200 described with reference to FIG. 2. In aparticular implementation, the authentication information, identifiers,and instructions 324 may reside completely, or at least partially,within the main memory 304, the static memory 306, and/or within theprocessor 302 during execution by the computer system 300. The mainmemory 304 and the processor 302 also may include a computer-readablestorage device. The authentication information included in theauthentication information, identifiers, and instructions 324 in thedrive unit 316, the main memory 304, the static memory 306, theprocessor 302, or combinations thereof may be transmitted to anothercomputer system to enable authentication of the computer system 300, andthe identifiers may include a list of identifiers used to authenticatethe other computer system, prior to sharing a resource with the othercomputer system.

In an alternative implementation, dedicated hardware implementations,such as application specific integrated circuits, programmable logicarrays and other hardware devices, may be constructed to implement oneor more of the methods described herein. Various implementations mayinclude a variety of electronic and computer systems. One or moreimplementations described herein may implement functions using two ormore specific interconnected hardware modules or devices with relatedcontrol and data signals that can be communicated between and throughthe modules, or as portions of an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC). Accordingly, the present system encompasses software,firmware, and hardware implementations.

In accordance with various implementations of the present disclosure,the methods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system, a processor, or a device, which mayinclude forms of instructions embodied as a state machine implementedwith logic components in an ASIC or a field programmable gate array(FPGA) device. Further, in an exemplary, non-limiting implementation,implementations may include distributed processing, component/objectdistributed processing, and parallel processing. Alternatively, virtualcomputer system processing may be constructed to implement one or moreof the methods or functionality described herein. It is further notedthat a computing device, such as a processor, a controller, a statemachine or other suitable device for executing instructions to performoperations may perform such operations directly or indirectly by way ofone or more intermediate devices directed by the computing device.

The computer system 300 may communicate with one or more externalsystems via a network 326. First data stored by the computer-readablestorage device 322 may be sent to the one or more external systems viathe network 326. Also, second data may be received by the computersystem 300 via the network 326. The second data may be stored by theprocessor 324 to the computer-readable storage device. Additionally,while the computer-readable storage device 322 is shown to be a singledevice, the computer-readable storage device 322 may be a single deviceor may be multiple devices, such as a centralized or distributeddatabase, and/or associated caches and servers that store one or moresets of instructions. The computer-readable storage device 322 iscapable of storing a set of instructions for execution by the processor302 to cause the computer system 300 to perform any one or more of themethods or operations disclosed herein.

In a particular non-limiting, exemplary implementation, thecomputer-readable storage device 322 may include a solid-state memorysuch as embedded memory (or a memory card or other package that housesone or more non-volatile read-only memories). Further, thecomputer-readable storage device 322 may include a random access memoryor other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally, thecomputer-readable storage device 322 may include a magneto-optical oroptical device, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device.Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one or more ofa computer-readable storage device and other equivalents and successordevices, in which data or instructions may be stored.

Although the one or more components and functions may be describedherein as being implemented with reference to particular standards orprotocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Such standards are from time-to-time superseded by faster ormore efficient equivalents having essentially the same functions.Wireless standards for short-range communications and long-rangecommunications can be used by the computer system 300 in selectedimplementations.

The illustrations of the implementations described herein are intendedto provide a general understanding of the structure of the variousimplementations. The illustrations are not intended to serve as acomplete description of all of the elements and features of apparatusand systems that utilize the structures or methods described herein.Many other implementations may be apparent to those of skill in the artupon reviewing the disclosure. Other implementations may be utilized andderived from the disclosure, such that structural and logicalsubstitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scopeof the disclosure. Figures are also merely representational and may notbe drawn to scale. Accordingly, the disclosure and the figures are to beregarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

Although specific implementations have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangementdesigned to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted forthe specific implementations shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all subsequent adaptations or variations of variousimplementations.

Less than all of the steps or functions described with respect to theexemplary processes or methods can also be performed in one or more ofthe exemplary implementations. Further, the use of numerical terms todescribe a device, component, step or function, such as first, second,third, and so forth, is not intended to describe an order unlessexpressly stated. The use of the terms first, second, third and soforth, is generally to distinguish between devices, components, steps orfunctions unless expressly stated otherwise. Additionally, one or moredevices or components described with respect to the exemplaryimplementations can facilitate one or more functions, where thefacilitating (e.g., facilitating access or facilitating establishing aconnection) can include less than every step needed to perform thefunction or can include all of the steps needed to perform the function.

In one or more implementations, a processor (which can include acontroller or circuit) has been described that performs variousfunctions. It should be understood that the processor can be implementedas multiple processors, which can include distributed processors orparallel processors in a single machine or multiple machines. Theprocessor can be used in supporting a virtual processing environment.The virtual processing environment may support one or more virtualmachines representing computers, servers, or other computing devices. Insuch virtual machines, components such as microprocessors and storagedevices may be virtualized or logically represented. The processor caninclude a state machine, an application specific integrated circuit,and/or a programmable gate array (PGA) including a FPGA. In one or moreimplementations, when a processor executes instructions to perform“operations”, this can include the processor performing the operationsdirectly and/or facilitating, directing, or cooperating with anotherdevice or component to perform the operations.

The Abstract is provided with the understanding that it will not be usedto interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition,in the foregoing Detailed Description, various features may be groupedtogether or described in a single implementation for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed implementations require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter may be directed toless than all of the features of any of the disclosed implementations.Thus, the following claims are incorporated into the DetailedDescription, with each claim standing on its own as defining separatelyclaimed subject matter.

The above-disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other implementations, which fallwithin the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, to the maximum extentallowed by law, the scope of the present disclosure is to be determinedby the broadest permissible interpretation of the following claims andtheir equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by theforegoing detailed description.

1. A method comprising: storing a first set of data packets of aplurality of data packets in a buffer at a receiving terminal, the firstset of data packets received by the receiving terminal from atransmitting terminal, wherein the plurality of data packets areassociated with speech, and wherein a second set of data packets of theplurality of data packets are unreceived by the receiving terminal;receiving, at the receiving terminal, a message indicating a signalquality of a signal received at the transmitting terminal; dynamicallyadjusting a size of the buffer based on the signal quality generatingreplacement packets using a user specific packet loss algorithm, thereplacement packets associated with the second set of data packets andgenerated based on the first set of data packets; and outputtingreconstructed speech based on the first set of packets and thereplacement packets.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdetermining a second signal quality at the receiving terminal, whereinthe size of the buffer is dynamically adjusted based on the secondsignal quality, and wherein determining the second signal qualitycomprises: predicting a future location of the receiving terminal basedon user input indicating a destination, wherein the future location isalong a route leading to the destination; and crowdsourcing informationfrom an external server, the information corresponding to a historicalsignal quality at the future location of the receiving terminal, whereinthe second signal quality corresponds to the historical signal qualityat the future location of the receiving terminal.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein dynamically adjusting the size of the buffer comprisesincreasing the size of the buffer based on the historical signal qualityat the future location of the receiving terminal being below a signalquality threshold.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdetermining a dropped packet rate at the receiving terminal, whereindynamically adjusting the size of the buffer includes increasing thesize of the buffer based on the dropped packet rate being greater than adropped packet threshold.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the droppedpacket threshold is equal to one percent.
 6. The method of claim 1,further comprising determining a packet transmission latency withrespect to the receiving terminal and the transmitting terminal, whereindynamically adjusting the size of the buffer further includes decreasingthe size of the buffer based on the packet transmission latency beinggreater than a latency threshold or a dynamic threshold, and wherein thedynamic threshold is based on near real-time conditions.
 7. The methodof claim 1, further comprising determining a use application at thereceiving terminal, wherein dynamically adjusting the size of the bufferincludes increasing the size of the buffer in response to the useapplication including a video streaming service or an audio streamingservice.
 8. An apparatus comprising: a processor; and a memorycomprising instructions executable by the processor to performoperations comprising: storing a first set of data packets of aplurality of data packets in a buffer at a receiving terminal, the firstset of data packets received by the receiving terminal from atransmitting terminal, wherein the plurality of data packets areassociated with speech, and wherein a second set of data packets of theplurality of data packets are unreceived by the receiving terminal;receiving, at the receiving terminal, a message indicating a signalquality of a signal received at the transmitting terminal; dynamicallyadjusting a size of the buffer based on the signal quality; generatingreplacement packets using a user specific packet loss algorithm, thereplacement packets associated with the second set of data packets andgenerated based on the first set of data packets; and outputtingreconstructed speech based on the first set of packets and thereplacement packets.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the operationsfurther comprise determining a second signal quality at the receivingterminal, wherein the size of the buffer is dynamically adjusted basedon the second signal quality, and wherein determining the second signalquality comprises: predicting a future location of the receivingterminal; and crowdsourcing information from an external server, theinformation corresponding to a historical signal quality at the futurelocation of the receiving terminal, wherein the second signal qualitycorresponds to the historical signal quality at the future location ofthe receiving terminal.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, whereindynamically adjusting the size of the buffer comprises increasing thesize of the buffer based on the historical signal quality at the futurelocation of the receiving terminal being below a signal qualitythreshold.
 11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the operations furthercomprise determining a dropped packet rate at the receiving terminal,and wherein dynamically adjusting the size of the buffer includesincreasing the size of the buffer based on the dropped packet rate beinggreater than a dropped packet threshold.
 12. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein the operations further comprise: receiving information from thetransmitting terminal, the information indicating an end-to-end packetloss rate at the transmitting terminal; and adjusting an end-to-endpacket loss threshold at the receiving terminal based on the end-to-endpacket loss rate at the transmitting terminal.
 13. The apparatus ofclaim 12, wherein adjusting the end-to-end packet loss thresholdincludes increasing the end-to-end packet loss threshold if-in responseto the end-to-end packet loss rate at the transmitting terminal is-beingbelow the end-to-end packet loss threshold.
 14. The apparatus of claim8, wherein the operations further comprise determining a use applicationat the receiving terminal, and wherein dynamically adjusting the size ofthe buffer includes increasing the size of the buffer in response to theuse application including a video streaming service or an audiostreaming service.
 15. A computer-readable storage device comprisinginstructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor toperform operations comprising: storing a first set of data packets of aplurality of data packets in a buffer at a receiving terminal, the firstset of data packets received by the receiving terminal from atransmitting terminal, wherein the plurality of data packets areassociated with speech, and wherein a second set of data packets of theplurality of data packets are unreceived by the receiving terminal;receiving, at the receiving terminal, a message indicating a signalquality of a signal received at the transmitting terminal; dynamicallyadjusting a size of the buffer based on the signal quality; generatingreplacement packets using a user specific packet loss algorithm, thereplacement packets associated with the second set of data packets andgenerated based on the first set of data packets; and outputtingreconstructed speech based on the first set of packets and thereplacement packets.
 16. The computer-readable storage device of claim15, wherein the operations further comprise determining a second signalquality at the receiving terminal, wherein the size of the buffer isdynamically adjusted based on the second signal quality, and whereindetermining the second signal quality comprises: predicting a futurelocation of the receiving terminal; and crowdsourcing information froman external server, the information corresponding to a historical signalquality at the future location of the receiving terminal, wherein thesecond signal quality corresponds to the historical signal quality atthe future location of the receiving terminal.
 17. The computer-readablestorage device of claim 16, wherein dynamically adjusting the size ofthe buffer comprises increasing the size of the buffer based on thehistorical signal quality at the future location of the receivingterminal being below a signal quality threshold.
 18. Thecomputer-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the operationsfurther comprise determining a dropped packet rate at the receivingterminal, and wherein dynamically adjusting the size of the bufferincludes increasing the size of the buffer based on the dropped packetrate being greater than a dropped packet threshold.
 19. Thecomputer-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the dropped packetthreshold is equal to one percent.
 20. The computer-readable storagedevice of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise determininga packet transmission latency with respect to the receiving terminal andthe transmitting terminal, wherein dynamically adjusting the size of thebuffer further includes decreasing the size of the buffer based on thepacket transmission latency being greater than a latency threshold or adynamic threshold, and wherein the dynamic threshold is based onreal-time conditions.